Step By Step OC

[Juice Box]

Ive been reading a lot about OCing CPUS, and i think i wanna go for it. I got an AMX XP Barton 3000+ at 400 FSB. ITs on a DFI Lan party NF2 Ultra Rev A board with 1 gig PC3200 Geil Ram. 9600 XT, 100 gb HD 420 W PSU, 4 optical drives. I wanna know what the first thing i need to do to properly do this, like if i need to OC my ram first, or what prog i can get to monitor temps, or if i need to up the voltage. I heard DFI mobos dont like to go much past 420, so if someone knows about this, thatd help, and i did get it right, my CPUs stock FSB is 400, not the normal 333. So any ideas would help, thanks!

 

[Rhombuss]

If you happen to have a factory unlocked CPU, then you can just bump up the CPU multiplier step-by-step, that'll increase your CPU FSB only. If your RAM can take aggressive settings, or if you use low CPU/MEM dividers, you can bump up the system FSB mhz by mhz until either your CPU or RAM tops out. Most motherboard manufacturers within the last 2 years provide system monitoring software that can show you temps/voltages/RPM etc. You didn't mention it specifically, but I'm assuming you're running the stock heatsink unit, it might be a good idea to upgrade to something a little more "after-market" (Swiftechs, ThermalRights) to keep that CPU cool once you start bumping up the core voltages. Don't have too much experience with DFI motherboards - you might want to try going to the Overclocking and Cooling section of the Forums. You'll get a wider range of responses there. Good luck!

 

[Juice Box]

lol, i thought i did post this in overclocking, guess not. I have a coolermaster aero 7 lite heatsink and fan, and i am pretty sure my CPU is unlocked, Its running at 10.5x right now, do i just step it up to 11 or what

 

[Juice Box]

also what im asking is do i have to up the voltage before i up the multiplier, or do i leave it at where its at now. And how do i know if i have this "agressive ram" you speak of.?

 

[Rhombuss]

Bump up the multiplier and run stability test like Prime95 or Folding@Home or both simultaneously to make sure your system is stable at that setting. If you're getting quick lock-ups after starting those programs, up the voltage one step, but be careful how far you push it. Like I said, search around the Overclocking forums, people will give you more detailed answers there. There are already a ton of overclocking guides out there for those starting out, definitely check those out.

www.overclockers.com
www.hardocp.com

are both good places to start.